My Readiness Can Make A Difference

Today we continue with our difference maker teaching series. During this series, we're looking at how your ordinary actions can have an eternal impact. Today I want to talk about how God wants to use your readiness to make a difference. That's right, your readiness. Because if you think about it, God gives you opportunities, every day of your life, to be a difference maker.

Opportunities at work, at home, at the gym, or even at church. Opportunities, every day, to make an eternal difference in someone else's life. I want you to think about this. What happens if God brings one of those divine appointments into your life, one of those God moments where you can talk about your faith, you can talk about Jesus, and you're not ready? And you miss it.

I got to thinking about how in other areas of our life if we're unprepared, caught off guard, or we're not ready, how sometimes, when it happens in other areas, it can be funny. Sometimes it's even painful. So you see, not being ready can be a very painful experience but very funny for the rest of us.

Let me tell you, there is a time when not being ready, not being prepared is never funny. That's when God gives you one of these divine opportunities to share your faith with someone, and you're not ready. A person asks how was your weekend? When you tell them what you did, they say, "So you go to church. Why do you go to church?"

It seems like the words just don't come out. Or a co-worker, they see you praying before your meal and they say, "Are you a Christian?" You say, "Yeah." They say, "Well, why are you a Christian?" You just don't have the words to answer. Or a person you know is going through a breakup or a really bad divorce. They come to you and say, "Hey, look, you've got this peace about you that I don't have. There's something different about you, I want it. What is that you have?" and you don't know what to say.

You see, your readiness to share your faith is important. I’ve heard people say, "I wish God would give me more opportunities to talk about my faith, more opportunities to share my faith," but let's be real for a moment. God gives us those opportunities. He gives us those divine moments every day.

The problem isn't the opportunities. The problem is either we don't recognize the opportunities when they come or when they do come, we're not ready for them.

I have two goals today.

One, that you'll leave here today more aware of those opportunities that God is giving you every day of your life to be a difference maker and to share faith.

Then, two, I want you to leave here today more prepared than ever before to be able to talk about your faith and talk about why you're a Christian, why you love Jesus when those opportunities come about.

We’re going to do something fun this morning. I’ll give you permission to draw in your notes. That’s right. Permission to doodle. I want to illustrate for you some easy ways that you can be ready to share your faith when the time comes.

Now listen, if you're here today and you're not a Christian. If you're not yet a follower of Jesus, I think you picked the perfect Sunday to be here, because before the day is over, you're going to know what it really means to be a follower of Jesus. We're going to pull back the curtain. You're going to see what a Christian really believes.

Go ahead and find your message notes. They're in your program. They look like this. Go ahead and pull those out. Let's look at a really cool story from the Book of Acts in the New Testament, Acts Chapter 8. From this story, we're going to learn some important lessons about why it's important to be ready if we want to be difference makers.

Acts Chapter 8, it's a long passage. Follow along in your notes as I read it out loud. It's the story of Phillip and the Ethiopian. Phillip was one of the leaders in the early church.

Acts 8:26–38 NKJV

26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.” 34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” 37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.

This is an incredible story.

God provided this opportunity to Philip to share Jesus with this Ethiopian government official, we don't know but who perhaps was the very first African Christian. Perhaps, he was the one that went back to Ethiopia and began the Ethiopian Christian Church that still exists today 2,000 years later. This divine encounter may have changed the history of the world, but here's the catch.

If Philip had not been ready for this encounter, God could not have used him. He would've been unable to use him.

Open your notes up to the inside and I want you to see our difference maker principle for this week. Each week, during the difference maker, we get a different principle of the week. This is this week's difference maker principle, "God uses me when I'm ready to be used."

Difference Maker Principle: God uses me when I am ready to be used!

If Philip had not been prepared to talk about his faith, he never would've been able to introduce this guy to Jesus. The truth is, if I am not ready, no matter how much I want to be a difference maker, no matter how much I want God to use me, God can't use me. We have to be ready. How do we ready ourselves to influence others for Jesus and change the world? Look in your notes, three quick steps to readiness.

In fact, I want you to jot these down in your notes. Three steps to being ready to make a difference.

Be Where God Wants Me to Be

This is physical readiness, being physically where God wants you to be. Look, you can't influence who God wants you to influence if you aren't where God wants you to be.

God told Philip that he needed to go down to that desert, road that ran between Gaza and Jerusalem and Philip went. God told Philip, the Holy Spirit said to Philip in Acts 8:29,

Acts 8:29 NKJV

29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”

"Go over and walk along beside the carriage." God told Philip go and talk to this Ethiopian treasurer and Philip did.

Now listen, God seldom speaks audibly and tells you exactly where to stand, but God does lead you to where He wants you to be.

In fact, let me say this. You're where you are for a reason.

The people that God has put in your life whether they're co‑workers, classmates, neighbors, friends, or family, whoever they are, they're not there by accident. God has them in your life for a reason. He has you, your job, and your family. He wants you there because he wants you to influence those people for Jesus. You're where God wants you to be. Be there, don't miss this point. Be where God wants me to be.

Be Aware Of Who God Wants Me To Invest In

I call this "spiritual readiness." Be physically where God wants you to be and then be spiritually aware of what's going on. By this, be aware of who God is working on around you. Go and join God in what He's doing.This is what Philip did in Acts Chapter 8, Verse 30. Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah.

Acts 8:30 NKJV

30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

He asked, "Do you understand what you're reading?" You see God was already working in the life of the Ethiopian treasurer. I mean he traveled to Jerusalem to find more about God. He is reading an Old Testament passage to find more about God. God was working in his life and Philip was spiritually ready. He was ready in this instance to be used by God.

You see we have two types of friends in our life. There are those who are not followers of Jesus. To be honest, they're a long way from God. They don't care about God, they don't want you to talk about God. If you bring up Jesus, they get upset. They just push you off. You have those types of friends. Then you've another group of friends, while they're not yet followers of Jesus, they're not Christians, they seem more open.

The mistake we often make is we get so focused on the hard cases that we miss that person who is sitting there quietly in the corner desperately in need of God's love, desperately seeking for something in their life. The person who God is already working in their life. You see Philip didn't miss his opportunity. He heard the Ethiopian reading the Scripture. He realized that he was open to God, he talked to him about Jesus.

Let me ask you this, "Who are the most receptive people in your life right now? Who are the people in your life right now that God is already working on them?" There are certain times in our lives when we are most open to God. I want you to write these down. When we're most open to God, we're under tension, we're in transition or in trouble. Those are the three times we're most open to God. We're under tension, we're in transition, or we're in trouble.

When people are in tension, they're experiencing stress at work or in their finances, they're facing anxiety at some point in their life, they're more open to God. They're in transition, maybe they just moved to the area. You have a new job, you've a new marriage, or maybe a new baby along the way. In transition, they're open to God or when you're in trouble, maybe they just lost their job. They’re about to lose their vehicle, maybe they have a relationship or a marriage that's falling apart.

That's when we realize that we need God. When the people in your life, they realize that there's something missing in and they can't do this by themselves. It's when we see friends, coworkers, or family really struggling. That's when they're more open to talk to us about God and about faith.

Be where God wants you to be, be aware of who God wants you to invest in, and thirdly,

Be Ready To Share My Faith At Any Time

I call this "intellectual readiness." This is when you're in the right place where God wants you to be and you recognize the right person, person who God is working in their life. Then, you know what to do, and you know what to say. Philip was ready. He was in the right place. He recognized who God wanted him to invest in, and then he knew what to say, to talk about his faith.

Again, back in your notes, Acts Chapter 8 Verse 35. It says,

Acts 8:35 NKJV

35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.

"Philip began with the same Scripture and then used many others to tell him the good news about Jesus."

Let me ask you this, "Would you like to be physically, spiritually and intellectually ready?" When God brings you one of those divine appointments, that person in your life who's really struggling in and seeking God, would you like to be ready for when God sends that opportunity?

I want to show you five ways to communicate to others what it really means to be a Christian. The five ways to communicate why you are a follower of Jesus.

Listen, if you're not yet a follower of Jesus, you're not a Christian. I think these illustrations are going to help you better understand what being a Christian is all about. Flip your notes over to the side. Five ways to be ready to share my faith at any time.

I'm not going to spend long on this first one because it was our topic last week, but the first way to share your faith with someone is my story. A story of how you became a follower of Jesus. We talked about this last week.

My Story

This is the most powerful way to share your faith because it's your story. They can relate to it, they're not going to argue with it, they care about it.

I want to issue a challenge. I’m calling this the "My Story Challenge."

I want to challenge you to record your story and post it on the TrueLife.org “Share My Jesus Story”. The URL is there in your notes. Just a simple two to three minute story, "Hey, I want you to know what Jesus has done in my life." Post it and let other people know about your story. It's one of the most effective ways that you can share your faith. We talked about that last week.

Now, the second illustration I want to share with you today is an illustration called "The Bridge."

The Bridge

I like this one because this is one that you can easily jot down on a napkin. You're having lunch with somebody, you're having coffee was somebody, I love this because if someone asks me, "Bart, what does it mean to be a Christian?" or "Why do I need Jesus in my life?" This is an easy but powerful way to illustrate it. You see, every faith system and religion in the world has tried to address the question that, as human beings, we’ve struggled with since the beginning of time.

How do we overcome the separation that exists between us and our Creator, between us and God? Let's be honest, we all sense at one point or another, this emptiness that is within us. This emptiness, this separation, it's been described as a God-shaped hole within us. We sense that we're separated from God and that it's something spiritual. We draw this illustration, you draw these two cliffs. It represents the separation that's between you.

The Bridge images here

We sense this in our lives. The Bible says this separation is caused by one thing, sin. You can jot this down in your notes. It's caused by sin. Since Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden, we’ve all been born sinners. We are separated from God. We fall short of what God wants for our life.

The Bible says that we are all sinners, none of us is perfect. This sin separates us from a perfect God. Listen, it separates us in this life from God's peace, presence, and power. That's when we feel this emptiness, this void in our life. No matter who you are, you feel it, and it also separates us from eternity with God. It keeps us from being able to go to Heaven. In human history, we've tried in various ways to overcome this chasm, to fill the emptiness in our lives.

For some people, it's about being good because we think if I'm good enough then God will accept me. If I'm good enough then I'll get into Heaven. We start building our own bridge of good works. I'm going to go to church. I'm going to pray. I'm going to give to the poor, I'm going to serve, I'm going to do all these things. We start trying to build this bridge, but the problem is, no matter how many good things we do, we can never build a bridge all the way across because none of us is perfect.

We keep messing up. We feel emptiness that way. Other people forget building a bridge, I'm just going to try to fill that emptiness in other ways. We throw our lives into our career, making money, to our family, for other people, drugs, and alcohol, other distractions. We try to build a bridge to make us happy and it falls short as well. The Bible says something interesting that God saw this separation that was caused because of our sin. He saw our attempts to reach out to him and none of them were good enough. He reached out to us instead.

God reached out to us and gave us this incredible gift, Jesus Christ. Jesus came and died on the cross to cover the gap for us, to be a bridge between where we are and where God is. The Bible says that, "On the cross, Jesus took upon himself all of our sin and he canceled it out. He took upon himself every sin you've ever committed and every sin you'll ever commit."

He died for it and was raised again from the grave to overcome sin and death. That if we will trust, put our trust in Jesus Christ. He was the bridge between eternal death and eternal life. He is the bridge to Heaven. He is the bridge to every relationship with God. If we'll trust in Him, that's why Jesus came to this earth.

If you remember nothing else about the bridge illustration, remember this. Christ came to Earth to be our bridge, and whoever crosses the bridge will live with God forever. That's what this bridge in front of us represents. The opportunity to pass from eternal death to eternal life.

Look at your notes at John 5:24. Look at what Jesus says. He says,

John 5:24 NKJV

24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

"I assure you, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins." And then, underline this last phrase. "That they have already passed from death into life."

If you're not yet a follower of Jesus, the only question that remains is, what are you going to do about it? Will you trust in Jesus and walk across the bridge that God has built for you, and pass from death to life? Or will you keep living with the separation that you know is there? The emptiness. The something that is missing that you know is there. You have to make that decision. I love this illustration. When someone says, "What is being a Christian all about? Why do I need Jesus in my life?" It's called the bridge illustration.

The third illustration I want to share with you today is probably one of the simplest and shortest illustrations I've come across. But I really like this one. When someone says, "Hey, no. I like Jesus and all, but it's really, really too hard to be a Christian. There's just too much that's required if I'm going to be a Christian. There's a 'to do' list and I don't want to follow it."

Maybe you're here today and feel that same way. This illustration is called "do versus done."

Do Versus Done

For many people, this is how you spell religion. In fact, in your notes draw the diagonal line. This is how most people spell religion. When they hear "religion," they here this. Two letters, "do." That's how they spell religion. D-O. Do. At the end of the day it's all about whether you have done enough. Are you doing enough to earn God's favour? Are you doing enough to get to Heaven? In fact, some Christians spell "religion" D-O as well.

If you want to know the truth, that's what most non-Christians think about Christians. If you're here today and you're not yet a Christian, I bet one of your big turnoffs to Christianity is that you think there's this big "to do" list and an even bigger "do not do" list. That being a Christian is going to suck all of the fun and all of the life out of your life.

Let me tell you this. Every religion is about doing, except one. And that is Biblical Christianity. Because for Christians, getting to Heaven has nothing to do with doing good things or not doing bad things. Instead, Jesus came to take care of it. In other words, it's no longer what you do, it's about what Jesus has already done. So, as a Christian I spell my faith, not D-O but D-O-N-E. It's not about what I do, it's about what Jesus has already done for me on the cross.

On the cross Jesus did everything that had to be done for my salvation. Christianity is spelled D-O-N-E. In fact, the Bible says what Jesus did on the cross for us is enough, period. He did what I could never do. His death was the perfect sacrifice to take away my past sins and my future sin. If you will receive what Jesus did on the cross, then he will make your life brand new. He will wipe away the past and he will secure your eternity in Heaven forever.

I love what Ephesians 2: 8-9 says. It says,

Ephesians 2:8–9 NKJV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

"God saved you." In other words, it was God who did it. It's done. It's not what you do, it's what he has done. God saved you by his special favor when you believed. You can't take credit for this. It is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done. It's not about what you do, so none of us can boast about it.

Listen, God did this, Jesus died on the cross because he loved you. All you have to do is trust in him and receive that gift and accept what he did on the cross. Remember, it's not about us. It's about him. It's about what Jesus did for us. That's a simple illustration that I call "do versus done." I love it when someone is like, "It's too much. Christianity is asking too much." It's not about what you do, it's about what Jesus has done.

If you'll flip your notes over, the fourth illustration that I want you to jot down to help you to be ready to share your faith when those moments come, is what I call the morality ladder.

Morality Ladder

I think this is an important illustration to share with someone who says, "You know what? I'm a good enough person to get into Heaven. I've weighed the scales." This is how they think eternity works. This is how most Americans feel. There's a scale. If I do more good than bad, I made it into Heaven.

If you're talking to somebody who thinks, "You know what? I'm good enough. I don't really need Jesus in my life," this is a good illustration. The morality ladder is how we all look at people. We all have these preconceptions. We judge people, where we put the good people at the top of the morality ladder and we put bad people at the bottom of the morality ladder.

Let's have a little fun and let's put some people on the morality ladder. First of all, let's think of some of the worst people, in your mind, who have ever lived. Maybe just types of people, or certain people. Who would you put at the bottom of the morality ladder? Don't say your boss or your mother‑in‑law.

Maybe Hitler. Or you think of a murderer, right? Charles Manson.

We think of the lowest of the low, right? Now, let's think happy thoughts. Who do we put at the top of the morality ladder? Who are some people who have lived that we think, they have been really good people?

Somebody always says Mother Theresa. That's right, Mother Theresa. We think of people like Billy Graham.

Morally, we would say they are at the top of the morality ladder.

Now, here's the interesting question. Where would you put yourself on the morality ladder? You would probably say, "You know what? I'm not as good as Mother Theresa but I'm better than Hitler. So I'm going to put myself right here. Somewhere in between." Here's what's interesting. Look at a person sitting next to you. Where would you put them on the morality ladder?

You're like, "Well, they're not as bad as Hitler but they're not as good as me. So I would probably put you right here." We do this, we put people on a morality ladder and we say, "If we're good enough will get into Heaven." If we're high enough on the morality ladder we'll get into Heaven.

But here's the question. Where is the line between Heaven and Hell on the morality ladder? Where is the line? Who draws the line between Heaven and Hell? Studies show that 80 percent of Americans think that they're getting into Heaven because they've been good enough. But they all think, "I've just barely been good enough."

Because we know we've done bad things, but we think we've done just enough, and so we draw the line between Heaven and Hell just below us. We think, "I'm going to draw the line, I'll put it here." But we live with this anxiety and this fear, don't we? Have I done enough? What if, at the end, I haven't done enough? We have this fear, this uncertainty.

Do you know what the Bible says about who draws the line between Heaven and Hell and where that line is? God draws the line. He doesn't draw the line right here. He draws the line up here at perfection. He says, "If your plan to get into Heaven is to be good enough then you better be perfect. Because I'm a perfect God and sin doesn't come into Heaven." He says it doesn't matter if you're Mother Theresa or if you've committed some atrocity that you're completely ashamed of.

It doesn't matter. You are not good enough, climbing the morality ladder, to get into Heaven. It doesn't matter if you feel like "I'm a good person" or if you're, right now, feeling like "I don't think that I'm that good of a person." Here's the question. Who's going to make up your gap? If you're not good enough to meet God's line who's going to make up the gap between perfection and wherever you are? Whether it's here or whether it's here, the Bible's answer is Jesus Christ. Jesus came to live the perfect life and he died on the cross to make up your gap.

Listen, this is the truth of Christianity. The reality of Christianity that sets it apart from every other religion is God's grace. It says even if you've lived your life down here, it's not too late. Even if there's no way you could do enough good things to make up for the bad you've done, God's grace will cover you if you will believe in Jesus Christ, if you will give your life to him.

It doesn't matter if you say I'm up here on the morality ladder, or down here. We all need Jesus to cover our gap. Let's look at our next verse, Romans 3:22. It says,

Romans 8:32 NKJV

32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

"We will be made right in God's sight when we," what? "Trust in Jesus Christ." When we trust in him that's when we're made right, to take away our sins. We all can be saved in the same way.

Underline this last phrase. "No matter who we are or what we have done," and you might say, "Pastor, you have no idea what I've done. You have no idea what I'm dealing with." Let me tell you, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what you've done. God wants you to have a relationship with him, so he's done all he can to make it possible.

Even if you're a zero on the ladder, God still sent his son to die for you. You can have a relationship with him so you can have an eternity in Heaven. It's the scandal of Christianity. It's the promise of God's grace. Too many people live their lives with fear, uncertainty. "I'm somewhere on this ladder but I don't know where the line is between Heaven and Hell." You don't have to live with that uncertainty.

You put your trust in Jesus Christ. He makes up the gap and that is enough. Real freedom is found when you ditch your man-made plans and choose instead to accept what Jesus has done on the cross. That's the morality ladder. I love that when I'm talking to someone who thinks, "I'm a good enough person. I don't need Jesus."

I want you to look at our last illustration in your notes. This is perhaps the easiest, but it's also perhaps the most effective, and that's "my invitation."

My Invitation

This is simply you inviting someone to come to church with you on Sunday. Inviting them to come and see. It may very well be the easiest way to share your faith but it's also the most effective. Just asking someone, "Hey, come to church with me and check out Christianity." Come to the church with me and check out Jesus. See what this thing is all about.

Listen, God wants to use you, and he's going to bring opportunities but we have to be ready, ready to tell our friends, our coworkers, and our family members why we love Jesus, why we follow Jesus, why we're Christians. Look at our last verse, Colossians chapter 4, verses 5 through 6.

Colossians 4:5–6 NKJV

5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

"Live wisely among those who are not believers and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone." Look at your next step on your notes. This says "Pray and commit to be ready to share my faith at any time."

For a follower of Jesus, I hope you'll take that step and say, "God, I want to be ready." As we pray in just a moment, I hope that's going to be your prayer, "God, help me to be ready. Help me to be aware of those opportunities that you want to bring in my life and ready to respond as you wish." Take that second next step. Then, if you're ready today for the first time, maybe you're here today, you saw these illustrations, you know that God is missing in your life, and you know that you need Jesus in your life to cross that bridge.

Trust Christ as your Savior.